<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Walking down the memory lane by Keytrastar</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24074311">Walking down the memory lane</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Keytrastar/pseuds/Keytrastar'>Keytrastar</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Samurai Jack (Cartoon)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>AU, Other, Politics, Slow Burn, Strange demon Headcanons, post-Aku infection</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 20:27:07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>6,201</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24074311</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Keytrastar/pseuds/Keytrastar</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>He had thought that the battle with the evil inside him had been won. But it soon returned with new strength, way beyond his control. Jack doesn’t look for help, but help finds him anyway in the face of a mysterious, nameless demon. </p><p>With his new companion in tow, Jack is about to partake on a new adventure that will completely change his views on his own past.. as well as his future.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Aku/Samurai Jack</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Walking down the memory lane</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>A translation of this wonderful fic written by Natsucki: </p><p>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23284351/chapters/55763476</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was a warm, summer morning, one of those rare days where the sun shone brightly upon the lands and cicadas chattered gleefully in the long grass, enjoying their short lives to the fullest possible extent. His friend sat next to him upon the soft ground and they smoked together in relatively peaceful silence, taking pleasure in the simple action and recounting the recent mishap during one of their hunting trips where one of their young squires, Minegishi he believed his name was, had fallen right in front of the wild boar they had been chasing up until that moment, dropping his weapons upon it and accidentally killing the animal before it could even think of bringing any harm upon the unfortunate youngster.</p><p>"I mean, did you see his face?" The emperor guffawed, passing him his gold encrusted kiseru, which the other man accepted gratefully. "He probably thought he was about to meet his ancestors right then and there!"</p><p>"Oh, yes! How unfortunate indeed that I am not an artist, I would've taken great pleasure in forever imprinting it upon paper!"</p><p>At that, they succumbed to laughter once more, but before they could really continue with their light-hearted conversation pale, tiny hands hit both men upside the heads. He choked upon the fragrant smoke emitting from the borrowed pipe, causing his friend to very  vocally express his mirth once more.</p><p>"Stop making fun of the poor boy!" The young, almost miniature sized woman now standing right behind them groused, her dark, elegant brows pulled together in a small frown. The emperor, however, merely pulled her closer to himself, still chuckling merrily at his companion's joke.</p><p>"Dear, please, there is no reason for annoyance, we merely got a little carried away, that is all. And it is not surprising really, seeing as how rarely anything truly interesting  happens during such events."</p><p>"I fail to see anything funny in this!"</p><p>"Oh come on, my lady, I was ready to throw my spear if anything truly dangerous happened. The situation was completely under control, I swear upon my honor."</p><p>The woman's black eyes flashed in suppressed fury.</p><p>"So, you just stood back and watched."</p><p>"<em>I</em> held him back, dear," his friend interjected on his behalf, a small smirk pulling at the corner of his lips, almost hidden by his neatly trimmed moustache. "Besides, you know how good a hunter our friend is. The boy was not in any danger, I tell you." The empress drew in an offended breath.</p><p>"Sometimes your jokes go way to far, you two are no longer children for crying out loud!" She grumbled, crossing her arms over her petite chest in a huff. The Emperor laughed once more, respectfully bowing his head in a show of contrition.</p><p>"Then it is a blessing indeed that we have you to call the first men of the empire to act according to their status."</p><p>The woman let out a greatly exaggerated sigh of exhaustion and glanced at them idly from the corner of her stunning, almond-shaped eyes. None of them missed the bright glint of playfulness dancing within their depths.</p><p>"When I was told that I was to become the mother of an entire country, I did not imagine that the biggest child within it would be at the head!"</p><p>This time it was his turn to laugh out loud.</p><p>"Yes, when he attends our meetings with such a serious expression on his face it is indeed difficult to tell just what an idiot he really is!"</p><p>"You both deserve each other," the woman drawled in fake irritation, amusement flickering within her dark, onyx eyes, "Now, more to the point, the Council is asking for both of you, so I would hurry if I were you. The last thing you want is to upset them"</p><p>The Emperor's face contorted in a grimace, but he hurriedly stood up nonetheless, briskly adjusting his colorful garments and brushing off stray blades of emerald grass.</p><p>"The meeting was scheduled for tomorrow, what is the reason for such a hurry?"</p><p>"All I know, is that it concerns the Hisashi clan." This time, they both grimaced. The man extended an arm in his direction, which he gladly accepted, pulling him to his feet with a short, powerful tug.</p><p>After his friend had quickly said goodbye to his wife, he turned back to face him, his sharp features brightening in a smile on more.</p><p>"Well, let us be off, ՊB𙡝ǔ決. "</p><p>And Aku opened his eyes.</p><p>Just as he thought, he had fallen asleep at his office table. With a revolting series of creaks and groans the demon straightened out, his green face darkening in a grimace- and almost instantly contorted in a vicious bout of coughing. Aku looked down at his clock - he'd fallen out of reality for a few hours for sure, but woke up even more exhausted and far sicker than he ever was before. He growled in despair and almost instantly bent in half in yet another fit of wracking coughs and sneezes.</p><p>As if the confusing dreams starring that idiot emperor (the mere mention of which still sent him into uncontrollable rage) were not enough, his body was also going through <em>this</em>, whatever it was. Perhaps the most terrifying aspect of his <em>condition</em> was that he had no ideas on how to stop the steadily worsening symptoms and his almost daily meetings with the samurai that in the end ultimately came to nothing only exacerbated them, sending him into the unpleasant embrace of devastating apathy and utter frailty. But who could think that such an insignificant ailment after his latest close and personal encounter with the samurai's sword would ever result in <em>this</em>?</p><p>"I have to kill him while I still can," Aku thought with startling, disturbing calm, "Even if it is the last thing that I ever do in my existence!"</p><p>He rose to his feet with a rough jerk, mentally throwing all of his complicated schemes aside. To hell with his convoluted, cunning plans! He'll just kill him, chase him until one of them ended up dead. And, naturally, the one to die would certainly be the samurai. Aku always came out as the winner of all battles, after all.</p><p>"If, of course, it is not a fight with that human," the demon thought bitterly and, now quite angry with himself, violently threw the door of his office open, all but tumbling out into the corridors of the citadel.</p><p>As he did so, he nearly tripped over his personal assistant, who seemed to have been about to enter the small room, and bared his fangs at her, throwing her aside as easily as a rag doll. The young woman didn't seem to mind much, however, as she smoothly did a somersault in mid air, easily landing on all four paws on the opposite wall, her claws sinking deep into the crimson stone and her tail neatly catching the data pad she had been holding in her hands before her short, sudden flight. The bony crest adorning her triangular muzzle unfurled in warning, her body going still and tense, not unlike a bowstring, ready to strike in alarm, but practically a moment later she slid smoothly to the floor and bowed respectfully before him, dipping her head low in a silent apology.</p><p>"Forgive me, Master. I did not mean to block your path."</p><p>"Satina," the demon growled, voice unusually hoarse, "You are early and for that, this time, you are forgiven."</p><p>The reptile bowed once more, but Aku was no longer looking in her direction, briskly making his way down the winding halls of his current dwelling.</p><p>"Get everything in order for my absence."</p><p>"May I be so bold as to ask how long our Lord will be away?"</p><p>"Hmm," Aku took a few moments to seriously think her inquiry over, even going so far as to slightly slow the speed of his hurried gait. The flight to the mountains, where the samurai simply <em>had</em> to be by now, knowing him, would take his drones a few hours for sure. Before he would've of course just teleported them there along with himself, but now he thought better of it, deciding to leave himself as much energy as he could for his possible encounter with the bothersome human. Add to that those few hours for the way back, and then also leave several more hours for Jack's murder... Considering the sheer stubbornness of the other, several hours was a minimum really.</p><p>"A day," the demon decided at last. "If I come back earlier than expected, the leftover hours will be spent sleeping. I will celebrate the samurai's death in my bed."</p><p>"Master, if I am permitted to voice my concern," Satina began, her brow ridges pulled in a slight frown. Aku merely let out a vague noise that resembled a rasp more than anything else, quite unwilling to hear the dry logic of her reasoning. He simply wasn't in the mood for criticism, no matter how constructive and yet delicately worded it was. "Only a few days have passed since your last… meeting with the samurai warrior," the way she picked her words carefully, chosing as many neutral epithets about his clashes with the bothersome human as she could while still successfully getting to the point, enraged the demon more than any obvious mockery ever could, even though Aku knew that it was done without the intention of insulting him, more like the opposite, in fact. Needless to say, his ego only suffered more from it. "And I believe that it is unwise to continue the chase right now. As far as I am aware, you do not have a ready plan and wouldn't you agree that your recovery is, currently, the most important thing that should be focused on?"</p><p>"Know your place, you pathetic reptile! No one dares to tell Aku what he <em>should</em> and <em>shouldn't</em> do!" The demon roared, now towering over the young woman, not unlike an enraged, murderous vulture out for blood.</p><p>Not one muscle twitched in Satina's scaled muzzle at the deafening threat. She merely bowed once more and muttered a quiet apology.</p><p>Aku only growled at her weakly, almost instantly succumbing to another bout of vicious coughing that left him even more exhausted by the end of it than he was before, if something like that was even possible at this point in time. The reptile instantly handed him a box of paper tissues at that, which he angrily yanked out of her hands. Her foresight to bring them with her only served to infuriate him even more.</p><p>"Do you wish to take a squad of drones with you, my Lord?" The young woman offered unobtrusively, deciding to temporarily drop the topic of the demon's physical condition.</p><p>"Yes," Aku snapped curtly, resuming his movement along the darkened corridor. His footsteps, quite loud thanks to his clawed feet, reverberated throughout the vaulted hallways.</p><p>"One squad consisting of 50 drones will be enough?"</p><p>"Yes."</p><p>"In about three minutes they will be waiting for you on the third launch pad."</p><p>The demon nodded and then suddenly came to a halt, turning back around to face his assistant. She obediently froze beside him, waiting for more orders, her clawed fingers swiftly typing in the last of the drone commands.</p><p>"You know what to do if I do not come back," the whispered phrase had become a routine of theirs by now, but every time it was voiced aloud, Satina's crest flattened itself against her lithe neck in a subconscious display of worry. But it was by far the only obvious sign of emotion that she permitted herself to show. Bowing before him for one last time, she left, her long tail soon vanishing around a distant corner. Despite her concern for him, Aku was certain that, if the need ever arose, his assistant would do everything according to plan.</p><p>He could depend on her in that at least.</p><p>The last stretch of the way the demon spent walking alone in silence, his thoughts far, far away, already circling around imagined future celebrations of the loathsome samurai's demise. He hoped that they would at least lighten his mood and add much needed strength for his recovery. However, he didn't necessarily have to do that as the mere sight of the black, polished metal of his robots glinting in the bright rays of the rising sun was enough to momentarily raise the demon's spirits, to the point that he even named the coordinates for them without coughing once.</p><p>When the ingrained navigational systems calculated an appropriate route for his little helpers and they one by one rose into the sky Aku, with some effort, changed his form into something simple and winged, allowing him to soar through the air on the rising wind currents without any unnecessary, tiring movements.</p><p>The sun slowly rose over the horizon as the pitch black line of robots, lead by the monstrous form of the demon himself, steadily made their way through the yet darkened skies.</p><p>***</p><p>Jack had long since gotten used to the fact that Aku could show up at any point, whenever he pleased, in fact, regardless of whether or not it was day or night. So, when he was suddenly surrounded by the demon's drones on that lone snowy path he was not the least bit surprised. However, he <em>was</em> taken aback by something else. The fight was amazingly short this time and the supposed lord stayed as far away from the ensuing battle as he possibly could, and appeared to be in quite a miserable state indeed. So shocked was he by his rival's appearance, that Jack actually hesitated as he stood before the obviously unwell demon, looking up into those red, sickness ridden eyes, before Aku heavily rose into the blue sky with a pathetic moan, muttering something along the lines of "I don't feel good".</p><p>The man sheathed his sword as he watched his rival go, a heavy sigh slipping past his cracked lips at the sight of the retreating demon. His wings moved up and down with obvious effort, but the samurai only let out an indifferent grunt, turning around and continuing to walk in the opposite direction. Whatever happened to his nemesis after this, the human was sure that he would be the first to find out. As usual.</p><p>
  <em>Oh, if he only knew how close he was to the truth then. In one form or another.</em>
</p><p>Strange things began happening to him soon after that, the cold seeping deep into his very bones as he struggled with sudden, crushing exhaustion that had fallen over him out of nowhere, but it wasn't his fatigue that forced him to temporarily stop from continuing his journey. It was the snow storm that came out of nowhere and consumed the entire mountain range seemingly within seconds, forcing him to seek cover in order to protect himself from the powerful winds. And so, the samurai curled up into a tight ball under a small ridge of ice, watching the now completely white world beyond the edges of his meager shelter.</p><p>The chills and the overwhelming sense of weakness seemed only to increase as the bad weather progressed, but his misfortunes did not stop there. In fact, they only seemed to be beginning. Even so, Jack ignored his growing symptoms, merely writing them off as battle fatigue after his recent encounter. It wouldn't be the first time he'd felt unwell after a difficult scuffle after all, but when he started seeing the ghostly forms of his parents before his very eyes, the samurai idly began to think that perhaps he <em>was</em> finally starting to lose his mind, before promptly succumbing to unconsciousness, his body going slack beneath the small outcrop he had managed to find and his onyx eyes slowly sliding shut.</p><p>Thanks to the selfless, generous aid of the mine-workers who had stumbled upon him by accident, the man didn't freeze to death then, and was now sat by a large fire, listening to their tales of working in the very depths of the towering mountains, watching the flames dance almost playfully upon the smooth surface of the shining gemstones his rescuers had displayed before him. What he certainly hadn't expected was to later find those same stones in his own sleeve the next morning, after saying goodbye to the two men who had helped him out in such a difficult time. He froze then, transfixed by the shimmering gems within his grasp, but, having soon regained his senses, quickly shoved them back into the folds of his gi. He certainly could not understand anything that was now happening to him, but instead of returning to the small shack and it's inhabitants, he merely walked on in the direction of the village that lay at the foot of the towering mountains.</p><p>The cold no longer bothered him by the time he reached it. On the contrary, a strange kind of warmth coursed through his huddled form, his legs carrying him forward without even a hint of the usual exhaustion he was accustomed to experiencing and his arms almost buzzing with excitement and an odd desire for action. He walked on, now completely lost within himself, thoughts about his strange behavior, of the stolen gemstones roiling within his delirious mind. "But, I need them more than they do," he thought grimly, "if I ever manage to return to the past thanks to the help they offered to me now, they will surely only express gratitude." Jack did consider the fact that he could simply ask them to hand over the stones, but the rather cowardly thought that you could not change the past made him dismiss the possibility of going back, kept him moving forward. The warmth only grew within him with every step that he took, unleashing his pent-up rage upon the unfortunate robot that had accidentally bumped into him. Well, more like, Jack was the one who had crashed into him as he walked past, completely lost within his own confused internal musings. But at that point he hadn't thought of it that way - his anger had clouded his mind and every rational thought it offered.</p><p>And how, here he was, staring in horror at his own reflection in the barrel of water he'd managed to find. The left side of his face was still his own, staring back at him with a single, human eye, but the right… From the trembling surface of the water stared a miniature version of his most hated rival. Jack began to shake, faint, frantic murmurs slipping past his cracked lips as he tried to understand, tried to figure out what was happening to him, what he was *<em>feeling</em>*.</p><p>"I.. I feel…" 'awful', 'disgusting', 'dirty' the samurai wanted to say. That's what he <em>should</em> have said.. "<b>STRONGER!</b>" He roared, his voice no longer his own. Jack would be lying if he said he wasn't scared in that moment, but he had to get this under control, couldn't allow this <em>poison</em> to take hold- "<b>YES, GOTTA GET A GRIP!</b>"</p><p>He broke into a run, racing down the narrow streets. Only one thought ran through his muddled mind then. The monks would be able to help him, he needed to find them as soon as possible, he needed their aid, he needed-</p><p>***</p><p>Jack really wished that everything that had happened in the past twenty-four hours could be merely a bad dream. Aku's evil that circulated through his veins, the monks that he had beaten up with irritation and enjoyment, and, most importantly, the portal that would now remain destroyed for many long years. Destroyed by his own hands. Now he understood why their battle had been cut short back in those mountains, Aku had prepared something far more interesting for himself by making Jack destroy his possible ticket home on his own.</p><p>And even though the man recalled his recent victory over the demon within him with pride, the thought that his journey had been <em>this</em> close to finally coming to an end still stung painfully at his heart. All he had had to do was to extend a hand and he would be- But, no, Aku was not about to let Jack escape his clawed grasp that easily. And, with the loathed sword held tightly in his vile grasp, had destroyed yet another way for the human to return home.</p><p>His quest continued.</p><p>***</p><p>When Aku rose heavily into the sky, cursing the samurai's name in every language he knew, ancient and new, he had to wonder what he had been even trying to achieve in the first place, facing the samurai without a plan like that. He could already imagine how Satina would say nothing upon his return, but would do it so <em>demonstratively</em>, that she would only serve to infuriate the demon even more. Could already hear the enraged tirade of the head of his medical department for his decision to leave in such a dreadful state. In moments like these Akua often liked to demonstrate her amazing imagination by describing to him in intricate detail his subsequent suffering, followed by eventual death. She, of course, called those sorts of wild fantasies medicine and objective facts. The demon Lord did his best not to roll his eyes <em>too</em> much during such lectures. Otherwise the offended medic could ramble on about the sheer irresponsibility of neglecting his health like that for hours. And that wasn't an exaggeration.</p><p>"Very well, I will leave the samurai alone for a day or two. Meanwhile I will squeeze everything I possibly can out of those useless scientists, I need a plan," the demon thought, scowling in irritation. Continuing to flap his wings was becoming difficult. Aku only hoped that he would have enough strength for the way back, but the moment he realized that he had never felt so exhausted, so utterly <em>weak</em>, the world around him flipped on its head and the demon realized with startling apathy that he was falling.</p><p>And then darkness consumed him.</p><p>***</p><p>The simple act of walking was quickly becoming tiresome. His legs sank in the ice cold snow all the way up to his knees. In fact, the bothersome powder seemed to be everywhere, surrounded him on all sides, fell from above in large, wet clumps, blinding his left eye.</p><p>His right one no longer had any lashes for the snow to cling onto. However, there <em>was</em> a flaming eyebrow where his human one used to be and he was no longer bothered by the physical need to blink.</p><p>The monks had said that only he could beat the evil within him and he <em>had</em> won against it, but what was he supposed to do if that evil came back? Jack tried to remember the events of the past several hours, tried to pinpoint the exact moment when he'd lost control. Or was it the last several days? He had long since lost track of time in this desert of snow and ice.</p><p>After saying goodbye to the monks, the man had continued moving north, following the advice they had given him in order to cross the mountain pass and reach the village lying at the end of it, hoping against hope that he would be able to spend the night there. But the pass turned out to be far more treacherous than he had expected and so he only reached the settlement late at night, exhausted, dirty and cold. Jack forlornly glanced at the badly torn sleeve of his stained gi, the white fabric having split apart almost to his very elbow, and could only hope that he would be able to find a needle and a thread at the local inn.</p><p>It wasn't long before his eyes located the faded sign, half the letters of which had become indecipherable over time, and the young man shuddered in overwhelming relief and anticipation. He could already imagine himself settling close to a burning fire with a hot cup of tea in his cold hands, but when he knocked on the door of the old looking tavern, no one answered him. Frowning, the samurai knocked again, twice as hard this time, the action insistent while still being well within the ranges of politeness. At last, a single window opened above him and Jack looked up, his eyes shuttering instinctively when a bright light shone down upon him, successfully blinding him for a split-second.</p><p>"Check-in's at ten, idiot!" A grumpy woman's voice barked at him and the window panels snapped shut once more. Jack looked around, at a loss of what to do. He had nowhere to go and no place to wait out the night. To be forced to return to the mountains… The samurai shuddered heavily at the very thought and knocked again. The window opened once more.</p><p>"I told you already. Check in is at ten. What are you, stupid?!"</p><p>"I am sorry," Jack begged, "But I have nowhere to spend the night. If only you could-"</p><p>"Not my problem, all the rooms are taken," the woman cut him off rudely. The window panels slammed shut one last time. The man could feel the anger starting to boil within him. He still hadn't recovered fully from the monks exhausting cleansing rituals, then the difficult passage through the mountains had worn him out even more, and now.. when the blessed rest was so close…</p><p>Jack slammed his palm against the door, more out of annoyance than any real hope of getting an answer from the grumpy owner. Well, more like the man was <em>going</em> to merely hit the door, but in reality he broke right through it, his black claws slicing through the old wood like butter. Horror overtaking him, he stumbled back, outstretching his clawed hand as far away from himself as possible.</p><p>"This shouldn't have happened!" The samurai thought with desperation. "I beat the evil within me!" And yet… the evil stared back at him again with those curved, razor sharp claws… Jack's hands began to shake. And then the now damaged door slammed open with an ear-shattering crack and the man didn't even realize he'd jumped back until a few seconds had passed, but when he saw the clawed paw that had at some point replaced his foot, everything that had been happening to him up until now became crystal clear.</p><p>A stout old woman stormed out of the now open doorway, shouting obsceneties in a throaty language he could not understand and quickly reloading her shotgun. He had encountered that weapon before, knew how it worked.</p><p>Jack went still, prepared himself to run, after all, he did not wish to bring the woman any harm, especially since he had ruined her property. All he had wanted was to lower the barrel of the gun pointed at him, but his right hand, apparently, had other ideas. With a single, swift movement, Jack sliced right through the simple weapon with his demonic claws and the neatly cut metallic pieces sprayed to the snowy ground, the owner soon following them, collapsing to the cold surface in a heap and crawling as far away from the samurai as she possibly could.</p><p>All he had wanted was a place to spend the night! He hadn't meant for this to happen!</p><p>And, before he even realized it, Jack was suddenly moving, kicking up clouds of snow with his clawed paws, racing down the lonely, empty streets of the small village. He had to get as far away from it as possible, had to get away from these people, before he could accidentally hurt any one of them.</p><p>All he had wanted to do was to spend the night here…</p><p>The samurai growled irately, his voice no longer his own, the claws that had long since replaced his pale, human fingers settling lightly on the handle of his blade. It was as if his other half also found some comfort in its presence, and so, Jack allowed it, concentrating instead on continuing to walk farther and farther away from all those people, to a place where he could either get this under control once more (without the help of the monks this time around), or put an end to it all while his will was still his own.</p><p>His stomach clenched at that particular thought.</p><p>He couldn't die like this, stranded in the future, without ever fulfilling his mission, his <em>purpose</em>. But, then again, he didn't have any other choices. And he was so tired, for how long has he been wandering around these cliffs, without closing his eyes once, without rest? He couldn't remember. It would appear that sleep, along with food and water, were no longer necessary for his survival, yet, despite it, Jack felt completely drained. And he knew full well that the problem wasn't in his lack of need for sustenance. His very mind was exhausted from the constant, incessant battle going on within it with the alien presence invading it, with the evil's will steadily overtaking his own.</p><p>The snowfall wasn't even thinking of starting to lessen, on the contrary, with every step that he took it seemed only to increase, the icy winds whistling in his ears and making his form curl in on itself in order to protect him from them, however meager that protection was. Jack knew he had to find a shelter as soon as possible if he didn't want the storm to come crashing down upon him in the middle of the road, though, at this point, he was seriously considering collapsing where he stood. It would also be a great way to verify if he <em>could</em> die from freezing now, in his new condition, even though he could already guess the possible outcome.</p><p>And then, something appeared out of the blinding mess of white and blue, a wooden bridge, stretching across a massive rift between two mountains, at the other side of which he could just barely make out a half ruined building. An abandoned church by the looks of it. Its steeples towered over the rocky ground, but Jack couldn't properly gauge the structure's size even if he tried, the cascading snow almost completely burying it from sight. But he was so, <em>so</em> tired, at this point he just wanted to find a place, any place, where he could recuperate, where he wouldn't be likely to hurt anyone.</p><p>Before he even realized it, his paws were already pushing him forward in the church's direction.</p><p>***</p><p>Aku had thought that nothing could be worse than his recent failure to end the samurai's life, but now that he was trembling violently from the cold and overwhelming pain invading his being, his hands shaking from all consuming <em>weakness</em> and his insides contorting in agonizing spasms, well, the demon could admit that he had been wrong.</p><p>Forcing himself to push past the hurt coursing through every line of his body, the tyrant looked back over his shoulder, his dark eyes locking upon the wooden ceiling through which he had crashed several hours ago. He could already see the stars twinkling merrily in the large hole caused by his fall, and realized that it was now nighttime.</p><p>The demon bared his fangs in frustration.</p><p>For how long exactly has he lain here, in this biting cold? Aku tried to budge from his spot, but almost instantly agony flared anew, powerful enough to make him <em>feel</em> as if some unseen force was rending him apart, disintegrating him bit by torturous bit, and prompting him to collapse back onto the dirty, snow laden floor. That soon turned out to be a mistake as well, as the pang of hurt that wracked his body was only just a little less wracking than the previous one.</p><p>Aku trembled helplessly, freezing upon the icy ground and trying his best not to move another inch. Even the single act of breathing was soon becoming a chore as he tried to draw in the cold air without somehow jarring his new injuries. And then his gaze fell to his hands. Pale, covered in scars, and utterly <em>human</em>. The only things that appeared to be left from his original appearance were the pitch black claws still decorating his fingertips. His trembling increased. His breaths came out in large, ragged, shallow gasps. Had Aku been human, he would've no doubt recognized the signs for those of an incoming panic attack, and now that he could feel his own heartbeat somewhere in the bottom of his throat, he could only think that he now had a heart.</p><p>If someone asked the demon how long he had spent lying there in that condition, he probably wouldn't be able to answer them, but eventually he managed to drag himself out of his shock, just enough to examine his new body. His movements were severely limited, but now he at least knew why, just as he now knew the cause of the terrible pain wracking his system. There was only one reason for it and it was now staring him straight in the face where it stuck out of his pale stomach. A metallic structure beam from the now damaged ceiling hovering overhead, the wooden pieces of which were still surrounding him on all sides. Moving was an impossible task. He was skewered by this beam, not unlike a butterfly upon a needle and Aku growled again, this time with a note of despair. That was when he realized that even his <em>voice</em> no longer sounded like his own.</p><p>The demon's trembling increased tenfold.</p><p>Everything had gone completely wrong and now here he was! In this pathetic, <em>human</em> state, injured, cold and terrified. Of course, his last plan wasn't one of his best, far from it in fact, but even so, he couldn't have known that it could result in <em>this</em>! For some reason, all of his schemes concerning the samurai always ended up resulting in the worst-case scenario, giving him a new definition for the word 'failure' every time.</p><p>Aku lay in the quickly chilling puddle of his own essence, breathing heavily. The black substance was everywhere, gushing out of his new wound like… like <em>blood</em>. Human blood.</p><p>Aku snarled in rage and utter helplessness.</p><p>He needed a plan, needed to return to the citadel, Akua was there after all, she would be able to help him. He had to do <em>something</em>. Aku looked back at his trail of 'blood'. He shuddered at the mere sight of it. With trembling fingers he tried to gather it up, shape it, mold it into some form or another, but nothing happened. He tried several more times, but the result remained the same. His magic either didn't listen to him, or he was so weak that he could no longer control it.</p><p>Utterly worn out by his worry and pain, the demon sagged to the floor. He needed a short break. And with that thought in mind, Aku closed his eyes, failing to notice as his own consciousness slipped away from him, darkness consuming him once more.</p><p>***</p><p>Jack threw his entire body against the church doors. They creaked in protest, deafinengly and shrilly, but opened a crack nonetheless. The samurai grimaced in disgust, but quickly squeezed into the the half-ruined building for the lack of better options.</p><p>The inside was just as cold as the outside, but at least he could take shelter here for the time being from the rising storm outside. That was, at least, until he stepped into something cold and wet.</p><p>Jack frowned and slowly kneeled upon the floor. In the dim light he could just barely make out some sort of liquid trail. The man carefully dipped his fingers into it. It was just a fraction warmer than anything else within the abandoned church. That made Jack frown even more, his dark eyes following the length of the wet trail. He couldn't see where it ended, a pile of stray debris blocking it from his sight. The damages here we're far more fresh than anywhere else. The hole in the ceiling had obviously appeared recently as well. The samurai cautiously walked around the pile of stones and metal.</p><p>In a puddle of, supposedly, his own blood, skewered to the ground with a metal beam and clearly unconscious lay some form of.. creature. And it was alive. Its sides rose and fell in shallow breaths, it's eyelids fluttered and its face, mostly human, contorted in a grimace of pain.</p><p>Aku came to slowly. But before he could even fully regain consciousness, the agony consuming his body made itself known once more. The demon winced and opened his eyes. A few feet away, illuminated by the shimmering light of the overhead stars, stood the samurai. The right side of his face  stared at him in a mirror version of his own with the same green muzzle and curved fangs. The demon remembered thinking that his first hallucinations ever were really disturbing. After all, why would his own mind throw the image of that accursed human at him again?</p><p>And then Aku lost consciousness once more.</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>